


Workplace Grievances

by chasingriver



Series: Arthur/Eames drabbles - AELDWS [3]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Community: inceptiversary, M/M, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Available, Space Husbands, Space Stations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-08-02
Packaged: 2018-04-12 16:01:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4485882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasingriver/pseuds/chasingriver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I’d send you home, but the next bus isn’t for three months.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Workplace Grievances

Eames lines up the shot carefully, and then, with a gentle nudge, sends the empty water pouch floating across the cabin toward Arthur’s head.

Arthur, sitting at the console discussing something with ground control, doesn’t see it coming. It taps him on the back of the head, just hard enough to distract him mid-sentence. Enough for an, “Oh, for God’s sake” and a confused reply from ground control. He whirls around. “Jesus, Eames. What are you, five?”

Yusuf, over in the corner with his laptop, snickers.

“Sorry, it slipped out of my hand,” Eames says, innocently.

“Yeah, I’ll bet it did. Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“We don’t rendezvous with the satellite for another two days, so not really. Why, would you like some help?”

Arthur grumbles and turns back to the console. “Sorry, control. Are you sure the Brits sent the right guy?”

* * *

Arthur has seen it before: for their first few days in space, everyone reverts to childhood, playing in zero-g and chasing bubbles of water around the station, but Eames has been here for two weeks now. It doesn’t help that he’s pronounced their regulation polo shirts — awful L.L. Bean-inspired things — ‘too warm’ for him, and floats around the station in a white undershirt and a pair of shorts two sizes too small.

He’s not sure what Eames does, beyond his official title of “technology specialist.” It involves a lot of time on his laptop and is probably classified. To be honest, he doesn’t have a very high opinion of him, no matter how good he looks.

It’s not until they haul in the broken spy satellite that he revises his assessment. Eames dismantles it with the focus and efficiency of a combat-proven soldier and then sets to work diagnosing and repairing it, soldering in new components with the precision of a surgeon, his large hands somehow deft and sure underneath the magnifying lens. Suddenly, Eames’ competence looks even better on him than those tight, white t-shirts.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: precision, space AU
> 
> I couldn't resist the "Space Husbands" tag, because the tag already existed and you know it's going to end up going there!
> 
> Many thanks to kate_the_reader for her beta help! 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at [chasingriversong](http://chasingriversong.tumblr.com).

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] ChasingRiver's Arthur/Eames Drabbles - AELDWS 2015](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6680209) by [chasingriver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasingriver/pseuds/chasingriver)




End file.
